Night latch



Oct. 28, 1930. l A I DEXTER 1,779,410

NIGHT LATCH Filed March 22, 1927 Patented Oct. Y28, 1930 UNITED srxrles LUCIENA. DEXTER, `o1? lGRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN NIGHT LATCH Application filed March 22, 1927. Serial No. 177,253.

This invention relates toanight lock or latch` adapted tofbe installed 4uponva door which is freely operable'at'the inner side of the door but which at theoutersidev ofthe door is operated by4 a( key, which whendetached renders the device'incapable of Aoperation. Itis an object and. purpose ofthe present invention to Iconstruct a simple and economically made night latch operable at 10 one side, that is, the inner fside', by means of` a knob` while at the outer side itis operated by means. of akey which iscarried bythe one havingV access to the room or house and which canzbe removed when it is not being used. This night latchy also includes means of operation whereby itv may be wholly rey tracted and retained in its retracted position when desired, while a'reverse operation will cause the latch to be projected into operative position. p if l An understanding of the invention for the attainment of thesev ends may be had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the construction of night latch which I have invented, the same being in its projected operative position.l

Fig. 2 is a like view showing the latch in retracted inoperative position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical transverse section through a door equipped with the night latch, the plane of the section being such as to show the key and knob operating devices in elevation, and

Fig. 4. is a perspective view of various parts of the construction, the same being separated and disassembled. Y

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the diiferent igures of the drawing.

The latch includes in its construction a tubular housing conveniently made up of twosemi-circular parts 1 having a closing and retaining cap 2Aat their inner ends and r a surrounding sleeve 3 at'their front ends,

connected with which is a plate 4 which, when 'the latch is applied to a door,bears against its edge, screws passingtherethrough to connect the plate securelyito the door..

In the outer end portion of the housing thus made a bolt is mounted including a rod A`5v vith a head 6 at its outer end adapted to pass freelyr through an opening inthe plate 4l. The head 6 is a bleek of metal substantially square in cross section. The rod 5 at `its inner end `is provided witha somewhat enlarged head 7 and immediately adjacent said head isfattened at Vopposite sides, as indicated atrS. t is detachably connected with a Vdisc 9 which has aradial slot 10 for `the passage of the flattened section 8, and a circular opening 11 at the inner end of the slot through which the rod may freely pass.

Connected with the disc 9 is a sheet metal member made from `flat metal, at its inner end having a cross portion 13 from which a narrower section 14C extends inwardly and around which one end of a spring 15 of greater strength than the spring 12 passes, the opposite end of the spring bearing against the end of the cap 2. From the-part 13 two legs 16 spaced apart extend outwardlyand adjacent their outer ends are widened making the sections 17. The ends `of the sections 17 passthrough suitable openings in the disc 9 F and are riveted thereto to.make a secure and permanent connection. The front edge of the part 13 jlies in a vertical plane, as indicated at 13. Y

Two sheet metal members are provided one to lie at each side of the substantially U- shaped vmember described. Each comprises an annular flange 19 from which, at its center portion a `cap 20 is pressed outwardly for a short distance and then reduced in size, as indicated at 21. The outer ends of the caps each have anopening 22 the purpose of which will later appear. Une of the members, namely, the one toward the inner side of the door, has a tongue 23 struck therefrom and bent inward so as toplie slightly withinthe plane of the inner side of its 4 iiange 19. To the flange 19 of one o-f these members two shouldered pins 24 ,are permanently-connected in spaced relation. The flange of the other member is provided with properlyspaced apart openings for the reception of the smaller free ends of the pins.

When the latch is assembled the sheet metal members described are located within ico the housing each half of which is made with a suitable opening in its side to receive the smaller parts 21 of the caps described. One of these members accordingly lies at each side of the U-sha-ped member of the latch bolt construction and the two pins 24 extend between, riding against the edge 18 as shown.

To install the latch with a door, indicated at 25 in F ig. 3, a hole is bored inwardly in the edge of the door large enough for the reception of the latch housing. Asecond hole is bored transversely through the door in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the two caps 21 described. An escutcheon plate 26 is secured at the inner side of the door associated with which is a. knob 27 mounted so that it can be turned about a horizontal aXis, to the inner end of which a square bar 28 is secured, the same passing through the opening 22 in the cap 21 at the side of the housing adjacent the knob. The end of the bar comes against the inwardly turned tongue 23 as shown in Fig. 3. In practice the bar 28 may be longer than is required and in the installation it is sawed oft to the proper length in accordance with the thickness of the door with which the latch is installed. In any case the end of the bar 28 is held against extending too far inwardly, being stopped by its engagement against the tongue 23.

At the opposite outer side of the door a similar escutcheon plate is secured in which a sleeve 29 having a key way opening is rotatably mounted. A key 30 may be passed through this sleeve 29 its end itted into the opening 22 in the cap 21 at that side of the door. It is of course evident that the shape of the openings 22 in the ends of the two caps are different, one being to receive the square bar 28 and the other to receive the end of the key 30.

lVith a latch such as described installed on a door, it may be readily operated from the inner side by turning the knob 27 in either direction. Turning the-knob turns both of the sheet metal members between which the pins 24 are disposed and, rirrespective of the direction of turning the knob, the U-shaped member is moved inwardly compressingthe spring 15 and therel y retracting the head 6. By turning the knob far enough the pins are moved from the position shown in F ig. 1 to that'shownvin Fig. 2. In both instances both of the pins engage squarely against the edge 18, whereby the latch bolt may be completely retracted and held in retracted position. The release of the latch bolt is of course eifected in the same manner by turning the knob in either direction so as to bring the two pins to their forward position shown in Fig. 1, from the rear position which they occupy as shown at Fig. 2. The latch bolt may also be operated by the key 30 in identically the same manner as is very evident.

This construction described is practical, economical to produce, will not get out of order, does not stick or bind after it has been used for a time, and in every way is a particularly effective device for the purposes described. The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1 A latch comprising a housing, a latchbolt mounted therein for reciprocation including a flat member leaving an opening therethrough, a spring located between the inner end of said flat member and the inner end of the housing normally tending to project the latch bolt outwardly, a sheet metal member located at each side of said flat member, each comprising an annular flange and an outwardly pressed central cap, said caps having rotatable mounting in openings in opposed sides of the housing, one of said caps having an opening for the recept-ion of the end of a detachable operating key and the other having an opening for the reception of an operating bar, a tongue turned inwardly from the member through which the bar is to extend to provide the stop for the inner end of the bar, and two spaced apart pins extending between the ianges of said operating members and through the opening in said flat members and engaging the inner end of said opening.

2. A latch comprising, a housing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein including a member having an opening therethrough, a spring acting upon said latch bolt to normally proj ect its outer end from said housing, a manually rotatable member, and two spaced apart pins lixed to said manually rotatable member and extending into said opening in the latch bolt member, said pins being engageable with the inner end of said opening, whereby rotation of the rotatable member will retract the latch bolt and will retain the latch bolt in retracted position against action of said spring.

3. A latchY comprising, a housing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein including a member having an opening with a substantially flat transverse inner end, a manually rotatable member, two spaced apart pins extending rom said manually rotatable member into said opening in the latch bolt member, andfengageable with said substantially flat inner end thereof, whereby rotation of the rotatable member will retract the latch bolt and retain it in retracted position.

4. A latch comprising, a housing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein including a member having an opening with a substantially flat uninterrupted transverse inner end, a manually rotatable member, and means eX- tending from said manually rotatable member having spaced apart contacts with the said inner end of said opening at two positions of said rotatable member, said positions being diametrically opposite from each other.'

5. A latch comprising, a housing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted in said housing, said latch bolt including a member having a continuous transverse surface, ai manually rotatable member and means extending from said manually rotatable member having two spaced apart points of Contact with said transverse surface on said latch bolt member at two positions of said rotatable member diametricallyopposite each other.

In testimony whereo1 I allix my signature.

LUCIEN A. DEXTER. 

